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The search is ongoing for a microlight aircraft with two people on board, after it was reported missing last night. UK Coastguard is continuing to co-ordinate the search, which had to be suspended because of fog at 3am today (10th June).

Coastguard Rescue Teams from Ballycastle, Coleraine, Port Muck and Larne are expected to carry out a shore search, while RNLI lifeboats from Larne, Red Bay and Portrush are also going to be involved.

A fixed wing aircraft and the Irish Coastguard search and rescue helicopter are also expected to be part of the search which is being carried out over inland and coastal areas, along with other emergency services and agencies.

James Instance, duty controller with UK Coastguard said, ‘The weather has caused problems for the search operation. However we have drawn up an extensive search and rescue plan which will be put into action today.’

The Doolin Coastguard unit have recovered the body of a male in an area known as Doonacore Bay, south of Doolin Point in Co Clare. The body was initially spotted shortly after 8am this morning by members of the Doolin Coast Guard team, who were conducting a shore line search. The body was subsequently recovered by a RIB operated by the team. The remains will be transferred to Ennis General Hospital for post mortem and formal identification.

Coastguard teams went into action a week ago when staff at the Cliffs of Moher's visitor centre noticed a car parked overnight. It's reported that the missing man is in his 60s, from Dublin and a regular pundit on TV and radio.

A twelve–year–old girl has been winched to safety after becoming stuck in mud at Hest Bank, Morecambe Bay.

Two girls were reported missing to the UK Coastguard at 6.30pm yesterday (18th May), one was soon found and brought back to shore, but the second was stuck waist deep.

HM Coastguard search and rescue teams from Morecambe and Knott End, along with the Morecambe RNLI hovercraft were sent, along with the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Caernarfon.

A mud extraction was carried out and the girl freed by the RNLI crew together with the Coastguard Rescue Teams.

She was then winched onto the HM Coastguard helicopter and transferred to Lancaster Hospital.

Adam Bradbury, senior coastal operations officer for HM Coastguard said: ‘This incident occurred with only a few hours left of daylight and on an incoming tide which soon made it potentially life-threatening.

‘All those involved did exactly the right thing by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard, rather than waiting.

‘Our advice is always the same: if you see or suspect someone is in difficulty in the water or along the shoreline call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

This afternoon the Irish Coast Guard were alerted to concerns for a diver who was at the slip at Howth Harbour, Co Dublin.

The local Coast Guard unit in Howth were tasked and were quickly on scene.

On arrival the team were met with a male diver in his 40s who had experienced a rapid ascent while returning to the surface from 15 meters depth. With the possibility of decompression sickness the Coast Guard team provided medical assistance until the arrival of an ambulance.

The casualty was taken to Beaumont Hospital where his condition is stable.

Two people were rescued from the water earlier this evening in Killyleagh, Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland after falling overboard from a dinghy.

A member of the public made a 999 call to the UK Coastguard at 7.00pm to report that they could hear shouts for help coming from the water at Killyleagh. Portaferry Coastguard Rescue Team and the Portaferry RNLI Lifeboat made their way to the incident.

Only minutes before the RNLI arrived, the Killyleagh Yacht Club Rescue boat reached the scene and found two people in the water. One person had fallen from the dinghy and was found clinging to the stern of moored vessel and the other person was clinging to a dinghy that was drifting out to sea.

The two casualties were taken to the Killyleagh Yacht Club, where one was treated for hypothermia by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

The Irish Coast Guard has achieved the significant milestone of 10,000 Sikorsky S92 flight hours in its Irish Search-and-Rescue (SAR). The five new technology Sikorsky S92 aircraft have completed more than 3100 missions, operating from the bases in Sligo, Waterford, Shannon and Dublin. With the introduction of the S92, the service ushered in a stepped change in operational effectiveness and flight safety. The fleet is equipped with state-of-the-art autopilot functions, auto hover and flight director upgrades. This has led to improved safety and higher levels of aircraft availability.

Chris Reynolds director of the Coast Guard said: ‘IRCG Search and Rescue helicopters operating out of four bases located across Ireland ensure that we continue to assist mariners, hill walkers, those living in rural areas and our islands communities”

Case Studies:

A significant percentage of SAR missions ensure critically ill people reach hospitals within the so called ‘golden hour’, giving them the best chance of a full recovery. For heart attack victims in rural communities, ensuring fast access to a specialist cardiac unit is vital. The speed and reliability of response is critical because the heart muscle starts to die within 80-90 minutes after it stops getting blood, and within six hours, almost all the affected parts of the heart could be irreversibly damaged.

When a pregnant woman living on an island off the Irish coast went into labour and found herself unable to get to hospital in July 2013, the SAR team were scrambled to take her to hospital. Impatient to make his/her arrival, labour was more advanced than initially believed and a baby boy was delivered by the crew’s winchman in the hospital corridor.

The waters around Ireland’s coastline can be both beautiful and wild. SAR Ireland’s crews have completed many missions miles offshore in some of the most challenging conditions. Here are two examples of a single night’s work.

· The 18th of September 2015 was a very busy shift for the crews of Waterford Rescue 117 (R117) and Shannon Rescue 115 (R115). Rescue115 was tasked by the Irish Coast Guard Station MRCC Valentia to Vessel Hanjin Cape Lambert approximately 170mls SW of Castletownbere, for an injured crewman. Due to the distance of the mission, R115 routed to Castletownbere refueling helipad. On arrival at the helipad, Rescue 115 was retasked to a more time critical medevac approximately 240mls SW Castletownbere to evacuate a 72 year old female with a suspected heart attack from cruise vessel Regal Princess. Rescue 117 (Waterford) was subsequently tasked to the Vessel Hanjin Cape Lambert. Rescue 115 lifted and met the Regal Princess 180mile SW Castletownbere. A Rescue 115 winchman was deployed to the vessel to assess the casualty’s condition. A Hi-line and stretcher technique were used to recover winchman and casualty back to the helicopter. R115 departed for Cork where the casualty was handed over for transfer on to Cork University Hospital.

· A crewman aboard a container ship about 100 miles off the coast of Ireland took ill recently and required medical evacuation. Two of Ireland’s Coast Guard helicopters were tasked in the long-range mission to the MV Atlantic Cartier and removed the man from the ship as he was suffering from chest pains. The Waterford-based aircraft (Rescue 117) reached the ship, located about 100 miles from Fastnet Rock, with the helicopter from Shannon (Rescue 115) providing top cover. The Irish Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Valentia, Co Kerry, which coordinated the rescue, said the man was taken to Cork Hospital where he made a full recovery.

The search resumed at 06:00 this morning for crew-members of a fishing-vessel which sank yesterday afternoon off St David's Head in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

One man was pulled from the water last night and transferred to hospital but his condition is not known.

The UK Coastguard had received a 999 call from a member of the public just before 14:30 on 28 April to report that they could see a fishing vessel in difficulty near the rocks at St David’s Head - the vessel subsequently sank.The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at St Athan and Coastguard Rescue Teams from St David's Head and Fishguard are all involved in the ongoing search, along with three RNLI lifeboats, also from St David's Head and Fishguard. The fishing-vessel is being named as the Harvester.